OOIDA members honored by Pilot Flying J
Pilot Flying J’s Road Warrior winners for 2023 are all OOIDA members, including the grand prize winner, Don Crouse.
Crouse, a life member from Indiana, has 50 years of experience behind the wheel.
You could say he pretty much has seen it all.
But he did not see this coming.
Thanks to some clever planning, a lunch meeting with a friend turned into Crouse being honored as the 2023 Pilot Flying J Road Warrior.
“Three weeks earlier, I got a message about getting together for a lunch,” Crouse said. “We were meeting at Boyd Grain (Crouse’s employer). My wife, Cindy, and I pulled in and took our paperwork into the office. We walked in, and all kinds of people were standing around and a screen mounted above the fireplace was playing a message from Mr. Haslam (Pilot’s founder).”
Crouse, who was nominated by his wife, said the grand prize of $15,000 will help with some major maintenance expenses on his truck.
“Last year, I put $34,000 into getting my truck overhauled,” Crouse said. “I put 108,000 miles on it in 10 and a half months, and it was out of warranty when I had to spend $37,000 to get it rebuilt again this year. So it came at a good time.”
Crouse hauls loads all across the country, so long as he’s home on the weekends. That’s a company rule with no wiggle room, Crouse said.
But take one look at Crouse’s Kenworth T700, and you’ll see what’s really important to him.
“Besides being a great driver for over 50 years, Don has gone above and beyond supporting our nation’s veterans through Wreaths Across America, and it’s awesome to see a company like Pilot recognize him for all his selfless efforts,” said Logan Graber, co-owner of Boyd Grain. “All of us at Boyd Grain are proud to work with Don.”
In support of the Wreaths Across America organization, Crouse has covered his truck with pictures of military veterans as well as banners promoting the program.
“My truck has pictures of around 65 veterans on it at this time,” Crouse said. “We get to talk to so many veterans across the country. Another thrill for me is to pull into a customer, and if one person comes out of the office to look at the truck, everyone comes out. At one location, a guard followed me around back, and I thought I was in trouble. When we got to the back, every employee was waiting to get a picture by the truck.”
Robert Palm won the $10,000 prize from Pilot Flying J as this year’s runner-up.
An OOIDA life member based in Albuquerque, N.M., Palm’s career as a professional driver spans more than 40 years. In 2015, Palm founded Truckers Final Mile to reunite truck drivers and their families following loss of life, debilitating injury, serious illness or crisis.
OOIDA member Angelique Temple was awarded third place and $5,000. A driver for Tornado Transport based in Ruther Glen, Va., Temple has more than 20 years of experience as a professional driver. Among her career accomplishments are being inducted into the Howes Hall of Fame in 2022 and serving on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s commercial driver panel.
“It was inspiring to read the nominations celebrating professional drivers’ heroism, dedication and selfless acts of kindness,” Adrienne Ingoldt, vice president of brand and marketing for Pilot Flying J, said. “At every turn and with each mile driven, these professional drivers go above and beyond to help people and communities along the way. Thank you and congratulations to Don, Robert and Angelique on this well-deserved recognition of your contributions and many years of driving.”
Pilot’s Road Warrior website says the award recognizes the most determined, dedicated and hardworking professionals who go the extra mile to keep our nation moving.
These honorees have done that and then some. LL